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Australia 2025
  • Alan Chapman

Australia 2025

A 41-day adventure by Alan Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 29, 2025
    Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    The Journey to Darwin

    July 29 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    On Sunday the 27th, I left Matt, my niece's husband, in my flat at 12.00, took a taxi to Victoria Station, and took the Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport. I stayed overnight at the Premier Inn opposite the North Terminal.
    The following morning, the 28th, I returned to South Terminal and checked in at the Singapore Airlines desk, passed quickly through security, and left at 10.45 on an Airbus 350, arriving at Changi Airport at 06.30 local time, 7 hours ahead of London. I hardly slept on the flight of almost 13 hours, instead listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, DIana Krall, Gregory Porter, Michael Buble and Lady Gaga.
    I took the Skytrain from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, and left at 08.50 on a Singapore Airlines Boeing 737, arriving at Darwin at 14.30 local time, 90 minutes ahead of Singapore. It took an hour to go through Customs and I showed that there was no excessive dirt on my boots, and that my tablets were prescribed. They were looking for food in particular, Australia being very cautious about importing foreign bugs.
    A taxi driven by a Bangladeshi took me to MOM, the YHA hostel on Mitchell Street. I'd pre-booked a single ensuite room which was basic. Guests weren't allowed to switch off the noisy air-conditioning although it helped to drown the music at the poolside bar above which continued to 23.00. A blanket was necessary to keep warm.
    The temperature was about 28 degrees, the same as in Singapore, with a blue sky which lasted for my stay in Darwin, the temperature reaching the low 30s on some days.
    I walked down to the Esplanade which borders Bicentennial Park which has lots of war memorials, especially related to the Japanese bombing of Darwin Harbour in February 1942 when more bombs were dropped than at Pearl Harbour in December 1941.
    I went to the bar at the Hotel Darwin for dinner to have my first experience of the size of meal portions in Australia; I couldn't finish the chicken breast. The bar was typical of those I'd encounter later with TV screens showing sports, and some also having screens about gambling on horse races.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin

    July 30 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    On a hot and sunny day, I walked across the road to an inside passageway next to Coles, the supermarket chain, for breakfast at a cafe. Then I went to the Tourist Information Office to pick up some maps and leaflets, and then continued past the Cathedral to the modern Waterfront with blocks of apartments, restaurants, an artificial beach and a wave machine.
    I walked through the WW2 Oil Storage Tunnels which were never used. There was further information about the Japanese attack in February 1942, the first of a total of twenty on Darwin that year, in which an American destroyer and other vessels were sunk.
    Lunch at a cafe in the Waterfront was an acai and granola fruit bowl which included dragon-fruit.
    The Smith Street Mall seemed to be the only place where the free city wifi worked. Unlike in London where the wifi is always there, in Darwin you had to log in with a password, e.g. at MOM.
    Having forgotten to pack a couple of tennis shirts, I went to a rugby shirt shop and bought an Australia and a Lions shirt, the Lions eventually winning the series in Australia 2-1.
    In the afternoon, I walked for a couple of miles past a golf course, a cricket field and an Aussie Rules Oval to the George Brown Botanic Gardens which had lots of varieties of plants and trees. There were plovers and ibises on the lawns as there were on the lawns and verges in the city.
    I walked back into town past smart housing and holiday apartments, and through Bicentennial Park to the bar at the Hotel Darwin for dinner.
    No police escorted the march in support of Palestine along Mitchell Street in the evening.
    Unlike in London, most of the rentable bikes and scooters had attaching helmets.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin

    July 31 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    On another ho and sunny day, I had breakfast and lunch at the City 21 cafe on the Smith Street Mall. On the trip, breakfasts often consisted of granola, yogurt, and various fruits such as acai, dragon-fruit, kiwi-fruit and berries.
    In the morning, I went to Crocodylus Park on Mitchell Street to see the saltwater crocs and watch both the adults and juveniles being fed. Also, there were fish tanks and reptile houses where the lizards looked stressed. Snakes were also housed.
    There were a number of indigenous people sitting in the streets and parks.
    In the afternoon, I checked out of MOM and moved to the 4-star Palms City Resort on the Esplanade for the next two nights.
    At 18.00, there was the joining meeting for the Intrepid trip to Litchfield and Kakadu NPs. The leader was John, and the other travelers were Trina and Alan from Perth, Alan's sister Jo and her husband Ron from Hobart, and Amanda from Canberra.
    In the evening, I had a jackfruit curry at a Sri Lankan restaurant on Mitchell Street.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Litchfield National Park

    August 1 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    On a drizzly morning, we left the hotel and drove in a 21-seater AC coach down the Stuart Highway past cattle ranches and mango plantations before turning off to go to Litchfield NP by which time the sun had come up to make it a hot and sunny day.
    We say a cathedral termite and a field of magnetic termite mounds before visiting three scenic waterfalls and plunge pools. Amanda and myself did a 2km walk around the top of the last waterfall which provided a view over the surrounding flat landscape of monsoon and savannah forest.
    We had a picnic lunch provided by John, a brief sight of a possum, and sightings of kites and Major Mitchell's cockatoos or Little Corellas.
    Back in Darwin, I had a Korean meal at a Waterfront restaurant.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kakadu National Park

    August 2 in Australia

    On another hot and sunny day, after a good breakfast at the hotel in Darwin, we drove down the Stuart Highway before turning off east along the Arnhem Highway.
    The first stop was at a wetland with a hide. A possum or a kangaroo was spotted somewhere.Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kakadu National Park

    August 2 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    In the afternoon, we went to Cahill's Crossing to see vehicles crossing a dam across the East Alligator River into Anhem Land. The river was tidal with the sea being 32km away.
    Then we went on a launch to see the saltwater crocs lining the riverbank. The guide also explained the fauna and flora of the area, and gave a demonstration of the use of the spear to fish. We stopped in Arnhem Land for 15 minutes.
    We stayed the night in good cabins at Cooinda Lodge which had flowering frangipani and cotton trees. Barramundi fish was on the menu at dinner. I watched the 2nd half of the Lions v Australia Test in Sydney.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kakadu National Park

    August 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    After a chilly start, the weather warmed up and after a good breakfast at the Lodge, we drove to see rock art, including depictions of Lightening Man, at the Arnhem Escarpment where we also saw ravens.Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kakadu National Park

    August 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After the scenery at the Arnhem Escarpment, we went to a billabong which had egrets, magpie geese, cockatoos, and large foot-prints made by water buffalo although, much to John's consternation, we didn't see any on the trip.
    We visited the Cultural Centre at Cooinda and lunched on kangaroo burgers back at the Lodge.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin

    August 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    On the way back to Darwin along the Arnhem Highway, we stopped at the Fogg Dam which had a viewing tower overlooking a flood plain. We saw juvenile wallabies boxing, blue-faced honeyeaters, jabiru, willie wagtails, and comb-crested jacanas or masked lapwings hopping across water-lily leaves.
    Back in Darwin, after some good-bye to the others and thanking John for a great trip, I checked back into MOM for three nights, and then had dinner in town.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin

    August 4 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    On another sunny and hot day, another good breakfast at City21 cafe was followed by some hiccups due to the Darwin Cup holiday which meant that there were no hop-on, hop-off buses. Many ladies were smartly dressed as they proceeded to the race-course on the outskirts of the city.
    I took the free city bus to the relatively new Northern Territory Museum and Gallery which had a good exhibition of Aboriginal art; a room telling the story of the devastating 1974 cyclone including a small, dark room in which you listened to the roar of the cyclone; a natural history section; the history of Darwin from 1900 to 1920; and a large hall with many types of boats including one used by Vietnamese refugees.
    I took the bus back to the city and walked down to the Waterfront and along the harbour wall to the Royal Flying Doctor Service but it shut just as I arrived at 14.00 due to the Public Holiday.
    I walked past the Cathedral with its flowering frangipani, the Supreme Court building with ibis and other birds on the lawn, and the Governor's residence.
    In the late afternoon, I went to the 16th floor of the Ramada Zen building to have an overview of the city and watch the sunset whilst drinking cocktails. I could also see the mangroves in the Charles Darwin NP, and the controlled burning of the bush in the distance, the smoke creating a haze which enhanced the afterglow of the sunset.
    I had snapper for dinner at a restaurant on the Waterfront.
    The Aboriginals call themselves "blackfella" with whites being "whitefella".
    I was intrigued as to why AC in some restaurants and other places was set so high. One hotel and and lodge wanted the AC in the bedrooms kept at 24 degrees to control the humidity but, in other places, it didn't seem to be adjusted to the change of the outside temperature.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin

    August 5 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    On yet another sunny and hot day, I walked to the Royal Flying Doctor Service on Stokes Hill Wharf where I entered one of their planes and wore a virtual-reality headset to experience the Japanese attack on Darwin on 19 February 1942. There were hologram videos on the attack and on the RFDS.
    After taking the hop-on, hop-off bus back to Smith Street, I took another bus to the Military Museum at East Point which also had a video about the attack plus other information about the attack and Darwin. There were also lots of exhibits of military hardware in the grounds and inside some sheds plus information about campaigns by the Armed Forces.
    I walked a short distance on the colourful rocks behind the beach near the Museum, and then caught a Big Bus through the suburbs back to town to complete the circuit.
    Dinner was pumpkin salad at the Hotel Darwin.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Darwin to Alice Springs

    August 6 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    On another sunny and hot day, I checked out of MOM, leaving my holdall in the luggage store room. Unfortunately, it got wet which meant drying out papers for a few days in the Diplomat Motel in Alice Springs.
    I walked down to the Waterfront and sat reading on a bench. Amanda from the Intrepid tour the previous week walked past.
    After having lunch at a cafe on the Waterfront, I retrieved my holdall and went by cab to the fairly modern departure lounge at Darwin Airport. The driver was originally from Neasden.
    The Qantas Embraer 190 with about 100 passengers left at 17.00 and arrived at Alice Springs at 19.00. I was the only passenger on the shuttle bus, driven by a lady from Chessington, which took me to the Diplomat Motel in the centre of Alice Springs. My room was on the first floor of one of the blocks.
    There was a quiz night in the restaurant at the Motel where I had dinner. There were lots of other travelers. It felt good to be part of the travelling community
    Alice Springs was cooler than Darwin so the AC was not required.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs

    August 7 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The day started cloudy and cold with a little drizzle. At 20 degrees, it was 12 degrees colder than Darwin.
    After having granola and fruit for breakfast in the cafe at the motel, I walked to the Tourist Information Centre along a pedestrian mall to book a tour to the East MacDonnell Range. The Centre also directed me to an office supplies warehouse where I bought folders for my documents once they dried out. I also bought stamps at the Post Office; 3A$ for a postcard.
    I walked out of town to the Araluen Cultural Precinct. Unfortunately, the Museum of Central Australia was closed. I walked around the four galleries of the Arts Centre which had mainly modern art focusing on the Central Desert Region.
    The Theatre was advertising an upcoming performance of La Boheme by Opera Australia.
    At the cafe, I bought a coffee to go with the toast I'd saved from breakfast.
    I walked back into town, took a photo of the statue of the explorer, John McDouall Stuart, and went to the Reptile Centre.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs Reptile Centre

    August 7 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    At the Reptile Centre, I joined a family for a demonstration by a handler with a Northern Blue-tongued Lizard and a Central Bearded Dragon. I had an Olive Python, Australia's second largest non-venomous snake, draped around me.
    There were other snakes and reptiles, including a beautiful Perentie Lizard, in enclosures and houses, plus a crocodile.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs RFDS

    August 7 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Across the road from the Reptile Centre was the Royal Flying Doctor Service housed in one of the old bungalows in the Heritage Quarter, all dated around 1940 and looked after by the National Trust.
    After a cake and tea, I saw the same video, together with a group from the Ghan train, about the Service as shown in Darwin together with a hologram of the founder, John Flynn. The aircraft on display was also the same model. There were headsets showing 3D videos of being a pilot and a patient.
    In the evening, I did some laundry at the motel, and also had dinner there, watching both Aussie Rules and Rugby League matches on the TV screens in the restaurant.
    In town, the Aboriginal children and adults were mainly dressed poorly. I saw a dispute between Aboriginals on a street one day. The advice was not to get involved.
    The town was flat and not large with one or two-storied shops and houses rather than flats and high-rises.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs Desert Park

    August 8 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    After a cool morning, it became a sunny and warm day which brought out the flies in the desert.
    I took the free local bus to the Desert Park. A notice on the path to the entrance warned of dingoes.
    I went to the Bird Show where a black-breasted buzzard, a bush-stoned curlew and a web-tailed eagle were on display. After lunch, I watched two dingoes being fed in their enclosure.
    The Park was divided into zones on the basis of different flora such as River Red Gums, woodland, sand-country, and desert rivers with the MacDonnell Range as a backdrop. An emu, a red kangaroo, and an Australian Bustard were in enclosures.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs Desert Park Birds

    August 8 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    There were lots of aviaries in the different zones in addition to the Bird Show.
    The following were seen in the aviaries: crested bell-bird; zebra finch; masked wood-swallow; spinifex pigeon; peaceful dove; red-capped robin; black cockatoo; grey teal; white-headed stilt, plus others I couldn't identify positively.
    I returned to town by bus and had another dinner at the Diplomat Motel.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs Telegraph Station

    August 9 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    On another bright but chilly morning followed by warmth in the afternoon, I walked a few kilometres beside the dry Todd River, encountering flocks of galahs, to the Telegraph Station, one of the first stops on the transcontinental telegraph between Adelaide and Darwin and the first permanent building in Central Australia, and up Trig Hill which was the first trig point in the mapping of the region. There was water in the original Alice Spring.
    I walked back into town and crossed the Todd Bridge to the Olive Pink Botanic Garden.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs Olive Pink Botanic Garden

    August 9 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After a light lunch in the Olive Pink Botanic Garden, I walked around the flora typical of the dry Red Centre.
    I saw a Black-footed Rock Wallaby with her joey, and a male Western Bowerbird building his nest to impress females. Other birds seen included; Australian Ringneck Parrot; Crested Pigeon; Galahs; White-plumed Honeyeater, and magpies.
    From an escarpment in the Garden, there was a distant view of the 3000ft Mt. Gillen and an overview of Alice Springs.
    Dinner at the Diplomat Motel was a kangaroo steak and date pudding.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Alice Springs East MacDonnell Range

    August 10 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On another sunny and warm day, I checked out of the Diplomat Motel but left my luggage in the storeroom.
    At 08.00, I was collected by a minibus to go on a half-day tour of the East MacDonnell Range. The first stop was at Anzac Hill overlooking Alice Springs
    After going through the Havitree Gap, the next stops were at the Emily and Jessie Gaps where photos of the rock art was not allowed because they were sacred to the Eastern Arrernte Aboriginals and their Dreamtime story.
    The next stop was at Corroboree Rock which we walked around for 30 minutes before having a mid-morning snack provided by the Sri Lankan guide.
    After stopping to take a photo of a 300-yeaar-old Ghost Gum, we proceeded to the Trepinha Gorge Nature Park which had differently-coloured seams of sandstone in the cliffs flanking the dry river-bed.
    After returning to town, I had lunch at the cafe at the Diplomat Motel, collected by holdall, and walked across Todd Bridge to the Mercure Resort Hotel, part of the Accor Group.
    At 18.00, there was the joining meeting and dinner of the Intrepid trip to Kings Canyon and Uluru. The leader was Pat, and the other members of the group were Darlene from Maryland; Natalie from North Island, NZ; Steve and Anne-Marie from Brisbane; Andy and Irina from Sydney, and Sarah from West Sussex.
    I bought a fly-net which I wore a few times.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Simpsons Gap

    August 11 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Leaving Alice Springs at 08.00 on another dry and sunny day, we drove to Simpsons Gap in the West MacDonnell Range for a 45-minute walk along the creek. There were rock wallabies in the cliffs.
    After two hours, we reached Eloura to have lunch at the roadhouse and see emus in an enclosure. Shortly afterwards, we stopped at the Red Centre of Australia.Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Kings Canyon

    August 11 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After a further three-hour drive, we arrived at Kings Canyon and walked in the wood alongside the creek for an hour.
    We stayed in large cabins at the Kings Canyon Discovery Park and had our pre-ordered dinner before walking through the Light Towers, an immersive visual and aural display by Bruce Munro.Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Uluru

    August 12 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had breakfast at 06.00 in order to start the Kings Canyon rim-walk by 08.00 before it got too hot. I stupidly had some grapefruit, forgetting that I shouldn't taken this whilst taking a statin. There was uncertainty of the effect upon my body after Pat did a web-search so I went back to the cabins and did a walk around the Discovery Park with Anne-Marie, a nurse, who said that a few segments of grapefruit shouldn't cause a problem.
    At 11.00, we drove to the Kings Creek Station for our pre-ordered camel burgers.
    Back on the very straight road, we passed Mt. Conner, known as Fuluru because some people are fooled into thinking that it is Uluru. It's on private land. A saline lake was on the other side of the viewpoint on the road. We also saw a herd of camels.
    We arrived at the Desert Gardens Hotel and, after checking in, drove to the lovely rock formations of 546 ft high Kata Tjuta for a walk in the Walpa Gorge.
    Then we drove to the sunset viewing area at Uluru where Pat provided some snacks. There were lots of groups eating and drinking. Some of us thought the sunset at Kata Tjuta may have been better due to the contrasts in the rock.
    Back at the hotel, I joined Spotify in case it might be the way to listen to some music in the car later in the trip. However, I was unable to take advantage of the free one-month trial; something to do with the credit cards. I downloaded some tapes from Apple iTunes on to my iPad instead.    Read more

  • Alan ChapmanAustralia 2025Traveler

    Uluru

    August 13 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    We got up early to see the sunrise so it was very chilly but it warmed up later in the day. The view of Uluru and its colour was better when the sun had risen.
    We visited the Cultural Centre where there was surprisingly nothing about trade between the many Aboriginal nations.
    We went to the Mutitjulu Waterhole guided by Iris and Emily, an Anangu, who described the use of the flora, the grave of a skull returned in 2023, and the Dreamtime story of the aunt, nephew and Wati Hiru, the venomous snake-man. The aunt was a Woma python-woman called Minyma Kunrya. The place was very spiritual.
    Then we went to Mala to see where the chain used to be to assist people climbing to the summit of 348ft high Uluru. Climbing was banned some decades ago.
    The 450km drive back to Alice Springs took five hours, passing cattle stations.
    After saying goodbye to the group and thanking Pat for a great trip, I checked into the Alice Springs Hotel, and then went for dinner with Natalie to Bojangles which was like a museum inside.    Read more

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